Under The Surface
by CUtopia
Summary: Spy!AU - When Agents Barba and Benson are partnered for an undercover mission, they both aren't exactly rejoicing - about their cover, about the mission, and about how it progresses.
1. New Assignments

My writing music to this was the album We Are The Royal by Royal Republic – they make awesome music, make sure to check them out ;)

Thanks a lot to the lovely Emily, who betaed this and helped with ideas! :)

I hope you guys like it, I would love hear your opinions! This is a Threeshot, so two more chapters to come ;)

(2300 Words)

* * *

 **Under The Surface**

Part 1

New Assignments

The flag of the United States of America gently blew in the wind, a blotch of colour against the grey sky hanging over the Central Intelligence Agency headquarters in Langley. Rafael Barba strode into the lobby of the giant building, not sparing a glance for the CIA logo that was emblazoned on the opposite wall – he'd walked through this place a thousand times before, and the excitement and awe of his first days as an agent had died down long ago.

On the contrary, he had mixed feelings about coming back here; he'd been forced to take a leave of absence over the last weeks, and the call he'd received this morning unsettled him more than he wanted to admit. He still hadn't received any news about what was going to happen with him now, and the vagueness of the call, containing only the order to come to his boss' office immediately, was enough to make him feel nervous underneath the cool facade.

A few people greeted him on his way to the elevator, and he answered with a politeness that had been practiced for so long that it now was automatic. Rafael was glad that nobody got onto the elevator with him; it gave him the time he needed to collect himself. He stared back at his reflection in the mirrored walls, avoiding his own gaze and instead checking his attire.

Taking a deep breath, he fixed his tie and wiped fuzz from the shoulder of his black suit jacket, urging himself to keep calm. It wouldn't help him at all if he lost his mind now; he needed to appear as if everything was back to normal, even though it wasn't.

The elevator stopped smoothly and the doors opened; Rafael took his time with getting off, checking his phone while walking through the endless hallways. As if anybody called him – his job was consuming his life, and during his leave he'd realised that there weren't any people waiting for him, except maybe his mother. How had he not noticed how lonely his life was? He'd probably blocked it out.

"Agent Barba, good morning," the lady sitting in his boss' anteroom greeted him with a smile and immediately pressed a button on the telephone, informing the man inside the office that Barba had arrived in hushed words. Rafael tried to appear friendly as he nodded at her in acknowledgment, but he knew that he failed – friendliness would probably never become his strength. On the other hand, he also didn't need to be nice; he was an interrogator, a man for the jobs that needed more drastic ways of persuasion, and it worked for him.

"You can go in now."

Rafael was glad to see that his hand didn't tremble as he pushed the door open and entered the office of his boss, Section Head Dodds. The man's expression was neutral as he motioned Rafael to sit down, uttering short words of welcome.

"You wanted to see me, Sir?" Rafael tried not to appear as if he was in any way worried about this meeting, casually leaning back in the comfortable leather chair. Dodds closed the file he had been reading and mirrored his pose.

"Do you want something to drink? Coffee, water?" he offered in a polite tone, as if they were two friends who just met up, not a superior officer who was about to tell his agent if his career would end soon.

"No, thank you, Sir," Rafael declined, even though he would have loved to have something to occupy his hands with. He tried to mask this sign of nervousness by folding them, placing them on top of his thighs.

"How was your leave? Did you relax?"

No, it echoed in his mind; he'd coped horribly with not having to work. Never before had he noticed that the TV programmes were getting dumber with each day, and that he didn't have any hobbies, except work and going for a run every morning. "Oh, yes. It was a good opportunity to let off some steam."

Dodds nodded, and Rafael was sure that he could see right through his lie, even though he didn't let it on. Leaning forwards, the man supported his forearms on the desk and said: "Well, I guess you won't be disappointed if I tell you that the decision to put you back into active duty was made yesterday."

"That's good news," Rafael replied, relief flooding his insides, and he couldn't quite keep it from seeping into his voice as well. He actually had no idea what he would have done if they had forced him to drop out of the CIA, and he thanked whoever was in charge of the universe that he didn't have to spare a thought.

"Unfortunately, you won't have time to dust off your desk right now. We have a mission for you," Dodds explained with a small smirk, leaning over to his phone and pushing a button. "Marcy, you can send Agent Benson in now."

Rafael cocked an eyebrow, and Dodds added: "You'll be assigned a partner for this mission."

"I work alone," Rafael replied stiffly, hearing the door open behind him.

"Not on this case," Dodds shot back with an authoritative undertone that signalled Rafael that he wouldn't change anything by disagreeing. "Meet your new partner, Rafael."

Reluctantly, Rafael stood up from his chair and turned around, Dodds' voice fading slightly into the background as his eyes fell on the agent standing by the door. "May I introduce you? Agent Olivia Benson, this is Agent Rafael Barba."

"Agent Barba, it's a pleasure to meet you," Agent Benson said, a small smile playing around her lips, and Rafael took the hand she offered him, shaking it more curtly than he intended. He tried to mask his irritation, hiding behind a mask of indifference. If he was honest, he greatly disliked the thought of having to work with a partner; he'd never needed one before, and he thought that he functioned a lot better when nobody got in his way.

Of course, he didn't know Agent Benson and what she was capable of, but in his opinion, she could be as good as she wanted, he didn't want to have a partner. He let her go past first as Dodds asked them to sit down, and it gave him time to eye her up; she was about an inch taller than him, wearing her chocolate brown hair in a bun. Black ankle boots and pants matched a bottle green blouse and a grey blazer. Her brown eyes surveyed him just the same way as he sat down on the second chair in front of Dodds' desk, intelligence and a little bit of curiosity showing off in her gaze.

"I'm very sorry that you're getting such short notice for this mission, but the cover of the agent who was originally assigned to it is already blown, according to an informant. So we had to change everything around – you two are our Plan 'll find all information at safe house gamma."

OoO

Rafael didn't like this situation at all. He was sitting in a car next to Benson, on the way to Washington, and couldn't get the thought out of his head that something about his new partner was fishy. Dodds had never assigned him to tasks that required a partner, as he knew that he didn't work well with most of the other agents in his division. Normally, he really wasn't the person for conspiracy theories, but this time he found it more than suspicious that Dodds paired him with this Agent Benson – a person he couldn't remember having seen around Langley before – just as he returned from a temporary suspension.

In his job he'd already seen pigs fly, and he decided that he wouldn't trust her, and be cautious about every single one of his steps. He didn't care if they were searching for something to sack him with – they could do that for as long as they wanted, he wouldn't give them anything to work with.

"So, you must be excited," he said, deciding that it was time to break the silence hanging thickly in the air between them. "Your first undercover mission?"

"Not at all," she replied, her eyes concentrated on the highway, but he could still tell that his words weren't to her liking. "I've been on several assignments abroad before. You're not the only agent with experience in the CIA."

Rafael smirked and and couldn't keep himself from being snarky as he responded: "In CIA terms, Canada can barely be called abroad. It's like saying you have experience with lions even though you only ever cuddled with a cat."

He couldn't use an inexperienced partner, and he also said that out loud, adding to his little explanation.

"Don't you dismiss me like that! I was in Afghanistan, gathering information on Al-Qaida members. See, I earned my jockstrap!" Benson was definitely pissed about his arrogant tone, but he didn't feel sorry at all.

"Oh please, the sandbox isn't the same as going undercover," he answered in a dismissive tone and turned his face towards the window.

Moments later, the tires screeched and the car came to an abrupt stop in the middle of the highway, nearly causing one of the many cars behind them to crash into them.

"What the fuck?" Rafael cursed loudly; his seatbelt had cut into his shoulder and now it was throbbing. Benson was glaring daggers at him, and if looks could kill... well, he would have slumped onto the asphalt a lot less gracefully than he did now. Maybe he should have thought about his words a little bit more carefully, he considered as he saw the car disappear in the thick traffic heading to Washington. This surely wasn't the best way to start a partnership.

OoO

Rafael had been fuming when he'd called a cab for himself – luckily, the driver hadn't asked why he had to pick him up on a busy highway – and he'd been prepared to give Benson his detailed opinion about kicking someone out of the car on the middle of the highway, but by the time he managed to get through the traffic jam, his anger had already disappeared. He'd also realised that he probably had to be glad that she hadn't kicked his butt on the spot; she seemed to be as sultry as he could be, and he swore to himself that he would be his usual, controlled self around her and keep his sarcasm at bay. How hard could it be to tolerate her for the short time they would have to work together?

OoO

To say that Olivia was annoyed was a complete understatement; this Agent Barba had managed to push her buttons within the first half hour – she had to grant him that he'd been pretty effective, and that not everyone was capable of doing that. It had satisfied her greatly to see him in the rear mirror, a flabbergasted expression on his face, and she thought that he'd deserved that.

When she'd been informed that Dodds had an undercover mission and a partner for her the previous day, she'd indeed been excited – Barba had a good reputation in the agency, and she always liked to work with professionals. But he'd proven that a good reputation wasn't everything; maybe he'd been working alone for too long to remember that you weren't supposed to talk to a partner who was your age as if he or she was a rookie. Instead of wanting to share experience she now felt the desire to shoot him.

And her mood didn't really get better as she rolled her suitcase with clothes and equipment into the living room of the safe house and opened the file on the laptop that contained all information about their cover identities and the case they would be investigating. Frowning, she scrolled through the pages and started to read through the details about their targets as she heard the front door being opened.

For a moment, she was bothered by the person that was definitely standing in her blind spot, but then she could smell an expensive cologne, a scent that she knew from her car, and she didn't look up from the screen as she asked casually: "How's your butt, Barba?"

"Still bouncing on the beltway," he replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm, and she smirked as he took off the jacket of his three piece suit, draping it over an armchair.

She didn't really expect him to apologise for the way he spoke with her earlier, and she was proven correct; he didn't even mention the incident as he disappeared to pack the stuff that was on the list from the agency – for missions that took place in circles of higher society, the agency provided clothing.

As soon as he was done, he came back to the living room and took the laptop from her hands unceremoniously, reading over the first few bits of information before he threw the laptop onto the couch, mumbling: "They can't be serious."

"Unfortunately, they are. I'm not too happy about this either, but I guess we have no other choice than to work with what they're giving us. Don't you agree, _Rafael_?"

He grumbled something incoherently before grabbing their fake passports from the small package that had been lying on the coffee table, scowling.

For a moment, he really wished that they hadn't gotten him out of suspension.


	2. Improvisations

I want to thank all of you who have left those nice reviews so far! I hope you like this second chapter :)

Thanks again to Emily, who betaed this! :)

(3660 Words)

* * *

 **Under The Surface**

Part 2

Improvisations

The bright, Cuban sun shone down from the sky, making the black limousine gleam as it drove down a street by the shoreline. Inside the car, Olivia was glancing out of the window, admiring the clear, turquoise water and the white beaches for a moment before leaning over to Barba. "This cover is a complete clichè."

"You already said that about a thousand times while we were on the plane," he replied sharply, opening a small, black box that he'd taken from the safe house in Washington. "Now stop complaining, Mrs Esparza."

He handed her the smaller one of the two silver wedding rings resting inside the box and slipped his own on unceremoniously, a slightly annoyed expression on his face. Of course he also found it was ridiculous, but he really thought that she didn't have to continue pointing it out.

"What I'm trying to say is that these people have surely watched enough spy movies to see through this cover quickly," she added, ignoring what he'd said earlier. Rafael saw how she stubbornly hesitated to put the ring on, and he grabbed it from her, taking her hand in his and slipping it onto her finger.

"Let's hope they won't," he responded with a sigh, asking himself where this headache had come from. "I guess it will depend on how good we're acting."

"I'm not bad at acting. Haven't you noticed how I concealed my urge to throttle you since we got onto the plane?"

Olivia inspected the ring, stretching her arm out in front of her, and she sounded so casual that Rafael couldn't stop himself from laughing curtly – she really had a sharp tongue that could compete with his, and though he would never have admitted it in front of her, he had to say that he liked that. No matter how much he disliked the situation they had been thrown into without preparation, this was an aspect that lightened his mood slightly.

Looking out the window, he could see the street bend and lead to the resort complex that was their destination, and he turned back towards her, stating: "We'll be there soon. Do we need to go over our cover again?"

"You sound like a lawyer preparing his witness for court," she answered dryly. "And no, my brain isn't so leaky that I would forget all information within the five minutes that passed since we last talked about it. Can it be that you're nervous?"

"No," Rafael shot back, maybe a little bit too fast. "Do I look like a lawyer?"

"You'd be arrogant enough," she replied, smirking before leaning over to him, her breath tickling his skin and making the hairs in his neck stand up as she whispered into his ear. "Don't worry about being nervous, I can hold your hand, since it's your first time."

OoO

As the limousine stopped in front of the main entrance of the resort, Olivia could barely keep her mouth shut. She was a little bit overwhelmed by the sight; the resort was probably the most luxurious place she'd ever seen. Huge palm trees towered above the parkway, a concierge opened the doors for them, and if Barba hadn't hooked his arm through hers and pulled her with him, she would have stopped in the middle of the lobby to stare and admire the amount of marble, gold and mahogany in the place.

"Act naturally, as if you belong here," Rafael hissed, and she barely managed to keep herself from glaring at him, glad that they had reached the reception. "Hello, I booked a suite. Name's Esparza."

The lady smiled at them before typing something into her computer, her voice sounding nearly too friendly as she responded: "Ah, yes, the penthouse. Welcome to the Paradise Resort, Mr and Mrs Esparza. Your luggage will be brought up for you."

She handed them two keycards and gestured towards the elevators, where a liftboy was already standing ready.

Only a few minutes later, Rafael closed the door of the penthouse behind them while Olivia walked around the generous living room with wide eyes, taking in every little detail. To him, rooms like this weren't new, and the first thing he did was grab a device to detect bugs with from his suitcase. With practiced movements, he walked through the living room while Olivia opened the huge glass doors that led onto the balcony and stepped outside. For a moment, he looked up from the screen of his device, getting distracted by the way the warm Caribbean wind played with her brown locks and blew her loose blouse against her body, then he shook himself out of it.

As she came back inside, her eyes gleaming in excitement, he gestured around the room, his voice dry as he said: "Now you know where your taxes are going."

He proceeded into the spacious bedroom – the only one in the penthouse, he noticed – and she followed him, her hands at her hips as she asked: "Aren't you a little bit paranoid?"

"Ever heard of the word 'caution'?"

She shrugged and left; he could hear how she went onto the balcony again and dragged a chair around there. A thought shot through his mind – had this been an attempt to keep him from finding a bug that had 'Made in USA' written on it? What if she secretly had the plan to make him confess any breaches of duty in a casual conversation between colleagues?

However, he didn't find any bugs at all, even though he really searched every single place he could think of, no matter how ridiculous. Still the odd feeling stayed as he stowed the device away and joined Olivia on the balcony, which offered a beautiful view over the ocean and the private beach of the resort. She was sitting on a sunlounger, wearing glasses and looking at her laptop, obviously having a look at the details again.

Rafael sat down next to her, taking a look; she was reading through the bio of one of their targets, mumbling: "What a nice fellow he seems to be. Dragan Astokhonovich. Accused of war crimes in Kosovo, is suspected of working with the IS... he was too sneaky to get caught so far."

"Then we'll have to change that," Rafael said, squinting slightly as he tried to read the paragraph with advice on how to approach Astokhonovich. Olivia took off her glasses and held him towards him, which caused him to give her an irritated glance. "I don't need glasses."

"That's what they all say, darling," she replied and put the glasses onto his nose. Rafael blinked a few times before he pushed the glasses up his nose and reluctantly acknowledged that he could read everything a lot better this way.

Olivia's triumphant smirk made him roll his eyes, and he hurried to read out loud what stood on the page. "He has a private bungalow on the resort property. I guess we should try to get in there and see if he has any documents about his transactions, especially on gun running."

"If we can get ahold of those, we're giving the attorneys enough to work with."

"Now you sound like a cop."

"Could you please concentrate on the task?" Olivia scolded him, but the tiniest of smirks played around the corners of her lips, which Rafael returned.

"Looks like he'll be present at the party tonight. We have an invitation, I guess we should try and establish a connection to him," Rafael suggested, bringing the conversation back on track. He didn't know why it kept happening – his tongue would loosen from time to time, causing him to say things he hadn't intended to say.

"I hope you brought a tux," Olivia replied, grinning brightly, and Rafael cocked an eyebrow, as if he wanted to say 'Are you kidding?'.

OoO

A few hours later, Rafael stood in front of the big mirror in the bedroom, fixing his bow tie carefully. They'd spent the afternoon planning how they would behave at the party and perfecting their cover, discussing a few details, and Rafael had been surprised about how it easy it had been to slip into a more professional way of conversing with her. Of course, they had still bickered here and there, her telling him that they would have to make up some things spontaneously, depending on what would be the most believable and realistic in certain circumstances.

The last hour they'd spent separately though, getting ready for the party, and now Rafael was waiting for her to come out of the bathroom, into which she'd locked herself. A tiny voice in the back of his head whispered something about her contacting her superiors in secret, but he ignored it – women always needed hours to get ready.

Moments later, he was ripped from his thoughts by the click of the door being unlocked, and he had a hard time keeping his expression under control as Olivia stepped out of the bathroom. She was wearing a knee-length, silver-grey dress that wrapped around her body perfectly without being too tight, her legs looked endless thanks to the black heels and her decent makeup made her brown eyes stand out. Her hair was framing her face in big curls, and a smug smile appeared on her rose lips as she saw how his gaze wandered over her appearance.

Rafael assumed that his brain must have lost its connection to his mouth for a short time, because if he had been in his right mind, he never would have said what was coming over his lips the moment he'd gotten over the initial shock. "Hey, you could be the CIA poster girl in that outfit."

Olivia looked irritated for a moment, then she answered slowly: "Thanks..."

He felt tempted to mumble an apology, but refrained from doing so – unfortunately, the connection seemed to fail again, because a thought rushed through his mind, demanding to be said out loud. "Uh, where do you keep your weapon in this dress?"

This time, she seemed to be a little bit more prepared for his question, as she started to laugh, sounding genuinely amused. "Believe me, you don't want to know. Are we ready to go?"

"Yes. Mrs Esparza."

"Mr Esparza."

He offered her his arm and she took it, allowing him to lead her out of their penthouse and as they stood in front of the elevators, he saw their reflection and briefly noted that they matched quite naturally, even though she was a good inch taller than him with her shoes.

OoO

Soft piano music drifted towards them as Rafael gave their names to the hotel employee that was in charge of the guest list and then they proceeded into the giant room, Rafael gently placing his hand on Olivia's waist. He had to admit that he was feeling a little bit nervous again – talking about acting like a married couple was one thing, but actually doing it was something completely different.

Trying not to think too much about the tingle in his fingertips, knowing that it would drive him crazy, he let his gaze wander through the large room. A lot of people were already there, standing together in small groups, conversing or drinking some of the champagne the waiters were offering. He recognised some of the faces immediately, as their pictures had been in the files too; they were henchmen of their target, smaller fishes that weren't their priority. And then, he saw him, walking around and greeting people with a wide smile that could have made him look like a normal, charming businessman if Rafael hadn't seen the pictures of what he'd done in the Kosovo.

"Astokhonovich is already here," Rafael whispered into Olivia's ear, a small smile on his lips as if he was just giving her a compliment. A little chuckle from her signalled him that she was joining the little game and with a little bit of pressure of his hand, he guided her towards the bar at the far side of the room.

"What do you want to drink, honey?" he asked in a normal volume as they reached the bar, his hand wandering to the small of her back almost automatically.

"Cabernet, please," she answered, and after Rafael gestured the barman to make two, she lowered her voice. "Honey? Couldn't you come up with a better nickname? You could just hand Astokhonovich a card with your number at Langley."

However, before he could give a snappy answer, he heard a voice behind them, causing them to turn around. "Good evening, and welcome to the party. I believe we haven't met yet."

Dragan Astokhonovich was standing in front of them, and Rafael shoved his surprise down quickly, shaking the hand the man offered him. "Rafael Esparza, a pleasure to meet you. And this is my wife, Olivia."

"Dragan Astokhonovich, and the pleasure is completely mine," he answered, and took Olivia's hand, letting his lips brush over her knuckles, which caused Olivia to smile and Rafael to tighten his grip around her waist possessively. The way the man's voice had become deeper and his gaze had caused him to react instinctively.

"If you may excuse my boldness, Rafael… you look like a man with a mission."

Even though he could conceal it, a cold rush was running down his back, but luckily Olivia reacted more quickly, her smile widening and turning into a charming one that nearly swept him off his feet, along with her answer. "Oh, he always has one. He's just trying to make it up to me that he turned our honeymoon into a business affair. We've been married for a few years now, but couldn't go on a holiday so far because my Rafi is such a hard-working man and we also have our son Noah. And then he says 'Baby, we're going to go to Cuba to catch up on what we missed' and tells me this morning that we'll attend this party."

A soft laugh from her caused Astokhonovich to grin, and she pressed a kiss onto Rafael's cheek while pulling him closer to her side. "But I love him nonetheless. He promised me that he won't work too much."

"I hope you stick to that. It would be a pity to leave your beautiful wife alone," Astokhonovich responded, and Rafael found that he highly disliked the undertone that was still lingering in the man's voice.

"I guess we make a pretty good team. She always reminds me to take a break." He hoped that he still sounded polite enough, but if he was honest, he didn't really care anymore. Astokhonovich was looking at Olivia as if she was a piece of fresh meat, and there could only be one alpha male here tonight. Since when was he thinking like that?

"If you may excuse us now, I would like to take my wife on the dancefloor. They're playing our song," Rafael added sharply, completely forgetting about the wine they'd ordered. "I'm looking forward to having another conversation with you tonight. I heard that you are searching for investors for an interesting business idea."

Moments later, Rafael guided Olivia into a soft sway on the dance floor, holding her so close that nobody could possibly overhear their conversation, their cheeks nearly touching as he hissed: "Was it necessary to improvise so drastically?"  
"With your poor reaction, I had to do something," she shot back, her nails digging painfully into his shoulder for a second.

"I can't do it when someone is watching," he mumbled, what caused her to chuckle. "But seriously, your improvisation was a little bit over the top."

"I don't think so. Rule number one, if you're lying always go into details. Now our relationship is a lot more believable to him," she explained. "All you did was behave like a caveman."

Rafael cursed inwardly; he'd somehow hoped that she hadn't noticed, but then he guessed that he'd been a little bit too obvious.

"I didn't like the way he was looking at you," he admitted before he could stop himself. "And I would prefer it if you wouldn't be present during the business talk."

"Are you serious? For your information, this possessive behaviour doesn't turn me on at all. We are living in the 21st century, if you haven't noticed that yet. Also, I think my presence would be an advantage!"

He could tell that she was furious, and of course he knew that he wasn't really being polite by telling her that he didn't want her to be present, but he didn't have the time to be sensitive. Rafael had the opinion that Astokhonovich would only really concentrate on the conversation when Olivia wasn't present, and also he thought that he worked a lot better on his own.

"Go up into our penthouse," Rafael said curtly, bringing a little bit of distance between them so he could look into her eyes – they were gleaming dangerously.

"You're making a big mistake," she growled with a fake smile on her face before their ways parted.

OoO

Olivia couldn't believe that he had seriously done this. Once again she felt the desire to kick his arrogant ass for being so ignorant – had he seriously been too occupied with marking his territory to realise that Astokhonovich appeared to be the textbook bragger? If he'd actually cared to listen to what she had to say, she would have been able to explain that he seemed to like to impress women, and that with a few well-placed gestures, she would have been able to play him like a piano.

She was sure that Rafael wouldn't get much information out of the man on his own, and she swore to make sure to rub it into his face so often until he understood that he should never think he knew better than her.

Deciding that it wouldn't help her if she frowned too much about Barba's behaviour during his absence, she changed into pyjama shorts and a worn New York Rangers t-shirt, throwing herself onto the couch and switching the TV on. A kitschy romance movie was being shown on one of the channels and she leaned back with a content sigh. Movies like that were perfect for her to relax and get sleepy before actually going to bed. As the movie was reaching its climax – she was just checking her phone for messages – she sensed that somebody was in the room, and not looking up from the message she was typing she stated: "You waltzing around in my blind spot is not going to intimidate me."

"You knew it," Rafael growled angrily, stepping into her line of sight. He seemed to have thrown his tux jacket away while coming in, his bow tie was hanging loosely around his neck and the top buttons of his white shirt were undone. She inwardly slapped herself for thinking that he looked quite handsome with the way he was running his right hand through his hair, ruffling it.

"Yes, I did. I hope this experience taught you not to dismiss me like that again. If you should repeat this, I'm going to shoot you, I swear."

He huffed and stormed into the bedroom, only to reappear moments later with a few pieces of clothing in his hands. "You could have told me!"

"May I remind you that you weren't keen to listen? Because you thought that you knew better?" Olivia shot back, grabbing the remote and switching the TV off. Rafael vanished into the bathroom, leaving the door slightly ajar. "If you continue like this the mission is going to fail!"

A good minute later, he emerged, wearing sweatpants and a black t-shirt, following her into the bedroom. With a loud noise, Olivia put her phone onto the nightstand on the left side of the bed, and seconds later, he growled: "That's my side of the bed."

"And now it's mine," she hissed, whipping around to glare at him. "Are you seriously trying to change the topic here? How old are you?"

It was obvious that he didn't have anything left to say about their argument – he knew she was right, even though he wasn't going to admit it in front of her. For a moment, they just stared at each other, standing on both sides of the large bed, then Olivia climbed onto the mattress and slipped under the blanket. "I guess I'll have to clean up your mess tomorrow."

The mattress bent under his weight as he climbed on too and she turned onto her side, her back to him, and moments later, the light on his nightstand was switched off. Silence fell over them together with darkness, the only thing Olivia could hear was the faint rushing of the ocean.

"Shut up," she suddenly said into the darkness, speaking over her shoulder.

"I didn't say any—"

"You were thinking. It's annoying. Look, I know you aren't going to apologise, even though you really should. But please stop _sulking_! Let's just forget that this happened, no harm done. Just don't do it again, or-"

"Or you'll shoot me, I got it," Rafael replied, and she could practically hear how he rolled his eyes.

"Good."

Then, they were silent again, and Olivia just turned onto her stomach to sleep as she heard him say behind her: "Night."

"Night," she mumbled back with a sigh, closing her eyes. She was glad that this day was coming to an end, and she seriously hoped that tomorrow would be less stressful.


	3. Letting Your Hair Down

Thanks a lot to everyone who reviewed, and thanks to Emily, who betaed this! :)

(3700 Words)

* * *

 **Under The Surface**

Part 3

Letting Your Hair Down

As Olivia woke up the next morning, she was disoriented and unaware of her location for a long moment in which she was only half-conscious. She didn't remember where she was or who she was with, and her sleepy mind didn't seem too worried about the muscular arm that was draped around her torso just below her breasts, even though she hadn't had a relationship in two years.

This fact dawned to her moments later, and she slowly opened her eyes, facing the chest she was cuddled against and slowly realising that she was still in that penthouse on Cuba, on a mission, with... Barba. Barba, whose legs her legs were tangled with, with whom she was lying in a messy heap of blankets and pillows...

Maybe she was still asleep? Because there was nothing in the world that could make her roll over in her sleep to snuggle into the arms of the most arrogant man she'd ever met.

A sleepy groan from Barba and him pressing his face into her hair made her realise that this was reality, and she closed her eyes for a moment. Feeling a headache approaching, she took a deep breath, then she carefully freed one of her legs.

Moving as slowly and gingerly she could, she shifted backwards, and a slightly malicious smirk lifted the corners of her mouth as she saw how close Barba was actually lying to the edge of the bed. She knew that this wasn't really the right type of behaviour, especially after they'd kind of made up about his solo the previous evening, but this was just too tempting.

He jerked awake as she shoved him, his hands grasping for anything they could get hold of as he slid off the bed, and that happened to be her t-shirt.

A gasp escaped Olivia as he pulled her with him and one second later, they landed on the floor; Rafael cried out in pain as his back hit the ground and Olivia crashed onto his chest, practically straddling him with her long legs. Rafael looked completely disorientated for a moment, then his green eyes met her shocked gaze – this certainly hadn't been her goal – and he suddenly seemed very awake.

"Oh what the heck! Can it be that you're obsessed with kicking me out of things?!"

For a moment, she was sure that she was going to blush, and she was more than glad when that didn't happen; it made it easier to conceal that she was highly embarrassed by how this little stunt had turned out. Her knees were throbbing, her heart was pumping hard in her chest, and a shudder ran down her spine as she realised their exact position. She hurried to sit up, which caused him to release her t-shirt from his grip, and she shot back: "Maybe it's because you wake these aggressions inside of me that desperately want to break free?"

"I thought we had this sorted out?" he cried out, pain evident in his voice, and he didn't sound like the arrogant Barba that had made her kick him out of the car. It made her feel a little bit guilty, if she was honest with herself, but then, this was Barba – he would probably do something that made him deserve this before breakfast was served.

"But seriously, Barba, what did you expect me to do when you snuggle up to me?" she asked back while crossing her arms in front of her chest, becoming oddly aware of the way she was sitting on his thighs.

"I snuggled up on you? If you haven't noticed, I was lying on my side of the bed! _You_ cuddled up against me!" Rafael growled in exasperation, glaring up at her, his green eyes boring into hers, and this time, she could feel how her cheeks flushed, which caused her to curse inwardly.

"I didn't!"

It was a weak attempt to deny it, but in her eyes it was better than nothing – though she couldn't remember rolling over to his side while sleeping, unfortunately it was more than possible. After all, the last time she'd slept in one bed with a man had been quite some time ago, and she was used to having the bed all for herself.

"You know, after seeing the way you react to close proximity, it wouldn't surprise me if you hadn't had someone i-"

"Don't say it," Olivia hissed, glaring daggers at him while she could feel how her face reddened impossibly. "Don't go there."

There it was again, the smug grin she'd detested from the very first minute, and she realised that she was just doing something she hadn't wanted to – she was being unprofessional. Maybe he was pulling her down to his level? They really had to get done with this assignment soon, so she could return to Langley and work with people who were less... she barely found a word to describe it. Insufferable, arrogant...

Supporting herself on the edge of the bed with one hand, she made it onto her feet and she walked over into the large wardrobe, running a hand through her hair. She couldn't believe that this had happened – this man woke urges inside of her that she didn't know she had!

As she came back into the bedroom, he was still lying on the floor, having rolled onto his side, supporting his chin on one hand, his green eyes looking up at her as he asked in such a casual tone that she felt suspicious: "Do we want to go downstairs for breakfast or order something? I'm voting for room service, to be honest."

She looked at him for a long moment, examining his expression, his posture, and then she smiled smugly, an expression that seemed to be beyond her control.

"You can't move, right?"

"No. I think you broke me," he replied with a forced chuckle, grimacing as Olivia grabbed his hands after placing the clothes she'd picked out on the bed. A groan of pain escaped him as she helped him onto his feet, and the tiniest bit of guilt rushed through her.

"I'm sorry."

She couldn't believe that she'd actually said that, and he too looked at her with utter disbelief, but she shrugged – this was about physical damage, not about hurt egos. Feeling the need to bring the conversation to a different topic, she added: "I guess we should order breakfast, then. Any wishes?"

"I want waffles!" Rafael exclaimed as he limped towards the bathroom, obviously to take a hot shower to try and get rid of the pain in his back, and Olivia bit back a nasty comment about the way he walked and age. "And strawberries! And whipped cream!"

"Now I know where my taxes are going!" she answered mockingly before he shut the door behind himself and the lock clicked into place. Releasing a breath, she padded into the living room to grab the phone and order something. He'd been oddly relaxed about it, and his change from one minute to the other made her feel uneasy, if she thought about it. Before she'd gone to grab her clothes, he'd been ready to attack below the belt, and then he was suddenly the one changing the topic and being relaxed about her having hurt him?

This man was so complicated that it gave her a headache.

OoO

Half an hour later, their breakfast arrived and the waiter set it up on the balcony, as it was a sunny morning. Olivia was already sipping her coffee when Rafael joined her, a grimace on his face as he sat down opposite to her and loaded his plate with waffles.

"Still hurting?" she asked carefully, putting her mug down and taking a chocolate croissant from the basket.

"I've felt better in my life, but I've also been worse. Nothing tops the broken skull I had in Pakistan," he answered, sounding just as relaxed as he had earlier, and Olivia decided to play along – maybe it was better for their working relationship if they joked about what had happened earlier. It certainly would make her feel better, even though she told herself that she didn't care if he held a grudge against her.

"Oh, I've had stuff like that, too," Olivia responded with a smile, tearing her croissant apart. "My left leg was broken at three places, my right arm dislocated, I had serial rib fractures with a punctured lung and internal bleeding... But the presents I got when they'd patched me up at Ramstein were nice."

She avoided his gaze as she realised that she'd just mentioned something she didn't really feel comfortable to speak about – in front of Barba, of all people – and she tried to keep her smile on her face, even though it felt forced and unnatural now. Her fingers were shaking slightly as she reached for a bowl with mango slices, and she was sure that he'd seen it. Olivia could feel his gaze on her, calm, questioning, but not overly curious, and she was thankful when he directed the conversation to a different topic.

"How do we want to approach Astokhonovich now? Any ideas?"

Olivia shrugged, chewing her fruit and looking out onto the waves of the ocean for a moment before she swallowed the bite down and answered slowly: "I guess we'll just go to the beach, see if he's there and socialise."

"By socialise you mean you press his buttons and I take care he keeps his eyes on your face?"

They smirked at each other over the breakfast table, and Olivia nodded approvingly. "Now you got it."

"Great. But don't expect me to fight him if he tries to make a move, my back is killing me!"

Putting her napkin down, she stood up with a smile, replying: "I think I can do something about that. Get up."

Rafael cocked an eyebrow, mirroring her action even though he didn't look too convinced that he trusted or liked the idea she was having. "They have people in the Spa that would be able to do this a lot better."

"I can do this, trust me!" Olivia insisted, placing her hands on his shoulders and letting them glide down his spine, feeling him jump slightly as she found the part that was causing him pain.

"I'd rather not!"

"Oh come on, if I wanted to kill you, I would have done it already," Olivia joked, and he turned his head in an abrupt motion, a little bit of seriousness flashing through his eyes as their gazes met. "Don't worry, I learnt how to do this."

He still didn't look too happy about the idea of her fixing the back she'd ruined, but he muttered: "Can't get any worse, I guess."

In the next moment, he shrieked in pain as his back cracked loudly, as if something was shifting back in place, and then he realised that the pain was gone. Rolling his shoulders and stretching, he turned around, not trying to mask his surprise as he said: "Wow, this is better. Where did you learn this?"

"Guantanamo Bay," she answered casually, and started to laugh in amusement as he whipped around with wide eyes, her brown eyes gleaming. "Oh come on, it was a joke! I had a friend in college, she always had problems with her back and showed me how to fix issues."

He continued to stare at her, and Olivia's laughter died down to a soft chuckle as she patted his shoulder.

"Come on, throw yourself into your bikini." She winked at him before grabbing a strawberry from the top of his cream-topped waffles and popping it into her mouth, then she turned on her heel and walked inside to get changed, feeling his gaze on her.

OoO

Rafael felt a tiny bit edgy as they walked through the small garden in the back of the resort's main building towards the private beach. Maybe it was because he remembered all too vividly how he'd fucked up his conversation with Astokhonovich last time… or maybe it was because Olivia was wearing a light blue summer dress that was playing around her curves whenever the breeze caught it, and he could see the edges of the white bikini she was wearing underneath it. He was just glad that he had his imagination under control.

Her arm was hooked into his as they walked towards the small beach bar, acting like the happy couple on vacation, and it didn't take them long to spot Astokhonovich at the bar, his gaze wandering around and finding them only moments later. Olivia put on a magnificent smile as they walked towards the man, and Rafael had to take a deep breath to control himself as he saw the man's eyes raking up and down Olivia's form. She'd definitely noticed, but seemed to be able to ignore it as she greeted the man with a smile that Rafael would have to compliment her on later.

"Mr Astokhonovich, what a pleasure to meet you here! I am so sorry that I had to leave early yesterday, the nanny called, our son was a little bit whiny," she said as they stopped in front of the man, and Rafael felt like he was still underestimating her acting skills. While he was having a hard time keeping his disgust about Astokhonovich at bay, she acted so naturally that he would have believed her game, hadn't he known that she found him just as repulsing.

"Olivia, oh please, call me Dragan," he answered, grinning, and Rafael tried hard not to grab her waist, remembering how she'd threatened to hurt him if he did that again – he felt like it would be wise to take her more serious this time.

"My husband told me about your project yesterday. I know, we're all here to have a little vacation, mostly, but I'd hoped that you might have your documents with you, so you would be able to explain what an investment would mean for us."

Her hand was lightly touching the gun-handler's right forearm, and she was leaning towards his ear – she was using an old psychological trick on him, and Rafael counted down from three in his head before the response came.

"Oh why, of course, they are in my bungalow," Astokhonovich explained, not without a flicker of pride and arrogance. "Though I fear I cannot invite you over tonight, as I will have to attend an event. But I could arrange a little meeting tomorrow, for lunch?"

"That sounds wonderful, Dragan," Olivia cooed, and Rafael felt the hairs on his neck stand up. To Astokhonovich, it surely sounded flirty, but in his imagination, it was the kind of voice she used moments before killing someone. "I hope you forgive us for leaving now, but my Rafi here promised me a long walk along the shoreline. I'm looking forward to our lunch!"

With a polite smile towards Astokhonovich, Olivia stood up from the barstool she'd briefly sat on and gingerly took Rafael's hand, her gaze lingering longer on his than necessary. Rafael nodded at the man with a smirk before letting her pull him away, closing his fingers a little tighter around her hand as they walked over the sand. Olivia guided him towards the water and the waves splashed around their bare feet as they wandered down the beach, only daring to speak when they were sure that they were out of the earshot of everyone at the beach.

"Now that went rather smoothly. Well done," Rafael said, looking at her with a little smile on his lips, allowing himself to admire for a moment how the sunlight made her hair glow as the salty breeze made it waft gently around her face.

"Watch out, or that might sound like a compliment," Olivia shot back, her brown eyes gleaming as she smirked, and Rafael chuckled, their shoulders bumping against each other as they made their way along the shoreline.

"Can I ask you something, Barba?" Olivia questioned after some time of quiet walking and letting the sun shine down on their skin, giving him a short side-glance. Rafael turned his head and raised his eyebrows, but motioned for her to go ahead.

"How did you get into the CIA?"

A short chuckle left him again, and he let his lashes flutter before he answered in a sickeningly sweet voice: "I smiled."

"I see." She snorted, covering her mouth with her free hand, and their joined hands swung between their bodies. "They just couldn't resist that!"

"And you? What does a woman like you want at Langley?"

Olivia shrugged, looking at the endless ocean for a moment, then said with a sigh: "After college I knew I wanted to do something with the police of FBI, and then I ended up in the CIA. Assignments in foreign countries are often interesting, I wouldn't have seen so much of the world without my job."

"Admit it, you just like strapping on a gun," he responded dryly, their shoulders bumping again as he grinned at her, and she started to laugh, her head tilting to the side as she winked at him.

"More than one."

"I kind of figured that." Rafael couldn't believe that he'd forgotten for a long moment that he was actually at work; walking down the beach holding Olivia's hand felt oddly natural to him, and this comfortableness with her made him... _uncomfortable_. It wasn't something he was used to; he didn't have many friends, at least none that were very close to him, thanks to his job, and his last relationship had been years ago. He couldn't remember ever having it feel so easy to bond with someone, even though they were having obvious disagreements.

"So, Astokhonovich gave us the perfect opportunity to have a look into his bungalow without anybody noticing. We go in, find the documents we're looking for, photograph them and are out of the resort before he even finishes his second martini," he suggested after having a look around to make sure that nobody was in close proximity to them. Rafael felt like he needed to take his mind off the confusion he felt inside of him – he felt something like sympathy towards her, even though he tried to remind himself that it was entirely possible that she would be trying to get him sacked. It was ridiculous; only this morning she'd thrown him out of bed in a not entirely mature move, and still he felt like there was something between them that went deeper than the banter.

"Sounds like a plan," Olivia answered, and when he turned his head, he felt a shiver running down his spine as he realised that she was still looking at him. "What, no snarky comment about me agreeing on your suggestion? Come on, don't disappoint me!"

He bit his lower lip, unsure of what to reply to her now, then he smirked weakly. "And destroy this moment without knowing when this is going to happen again? No way."

Somehow he felt unable to tear his gaze away from her eyes he seemed to be drowning in those chocolate irises, and a warm feeling was spreading in his stomach as they continued to look at each other, fingers still entwined. This wasn't what he'd planned, but not matter what he tried, he couldn't get rid of this feeling that lingered inside of him when he looked at her, a feeling he hadn't felt in years.

OoO

Hours later, the sun had long since vanished into the ocean, Olivia and Rafael sneaked through the bushes next to the smaller parkway leading towards Astokhonovich's bungalow, their black clothes helping them to perfectly blend into the night as they avoided the light of the small lanterns along the way. About half an hour earlier, they'd seen Astokhonovich leave in his fancy sports car, together with his blonde decorative girlfriend, and that had been their sign to start with their plan.

While they were closing in on the bungalow, they kept looking out for any guards or automatic alerts that could jeopardise their mission, but there was nothing. It was no problem for them to pick the lock of the bungalow terrace door and get inside, and soon, they found Astokhonovich's office, and it was like spy Christmas when they spotted all the documents lying on the table.

Olivia grabbed the mini camera she'd brought while Rafael carefully skimmed through the papers on the desk, handing her one to photograph once in awhile.

"It's disgusting to see how he makes millions by starting civil wars and supporting warlords," Rafael hissed while he started to open the drawers a few silent minutes later, and Olivia nodded in agreement, but was too concentrated on what she was doing to answer.

"Found his laptop. Give me a memory stick."

She slipped one out of the pocket of her black jacket and handed it to him, leaning over the table, and as their gloved hands touched, they both paused for a brief moment, looking each other into the eyes. It distracted them for a short time, as the room seemed to fade away...

They were brought back into reality by a metallic noise and a cold sensation against the backs of their heads, and they froze, their gazes still locked and fingers brushing against each other as the light in the room was switched on, blinding them both.

"Now, what do we have here?" The voice sounded horribly familiar, and Olivia could feel a cold shiver run down her spine as realisation hit her at the same moment as the gun handle.


	4. Weaknesses

Warning for mentions of violence! Also, this hasn't been betaed, so I'm sorry for any errors.

There will be one last chapter after this one :)

(2360 Words)

* * *

 **Under The Surface**

Part 4

Weaknesses

Rafael's head was pounding horribly as he opened his eyes and tried to orientate himself; the room was spinning slightly, as he was dizzy, but he could tell that they were still in Astokhonovich's bungalow. Olivia was sitting on a chair opposite to him, her hands duct taped to it, and upon trying to move, he realised that the same had been done to him. A movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention, and he turned his head, spotting Astokhonovich who was leaning back in an armchair, taking a deep sip from a tumbler of scotch.

"How pleasant to see that you two are awake, finally." His voice was calm, casual, and Rafael decided that he didn't like that. It was clear to him what Astokhonovich would do with them, and he honestly preferred to hear the truth. They weren't in a James Bond movie, after all.

Olivia stirred, and Rafael gulped as he saw her lashes flutter behind the strands of hair that were hanging into her face, feeling unjustified guilt for having brought her into a situation like that. The moment she seemed to realise what was going on, her whole body tensed, and a visible shiver ran through her as she strained against the tape binding her to the chair.

Astokhonovich slowly stood up from the armchair, placed his scotch on one of the small mahogany tables and then strode through the room, smiling arrogantly. "I have to admit, I didn't think you two were the CIA agents my informants were talking about. Your connection seemed too natural to be faked, but then my source sent me pictures. So, Agents Benson and Barba, what am I supposed to do with you now?"

"I hate rhetorical questions," Rafael replied dryly in an attempt to distract Astokhonovich from the expression that ghosted over Olivia's face – fear clouded her eyes, but unfortunately, the man seemed to have registered that. He gestured at someone standing in Rafael's blind spot, and smirked viciously, kneeling down next to her.

"Well, Mr Barba, I do have several options, so it wasn't entirely rhetorical. And I think I just decided to see if you are willing to give me some information I require."

"You know that neither of us are going to tell you anything," Rafael stated, a bad feeling spreading in his gut, and Astokhonovich only confirmed that when his smirk only widened as he reached up and tucked some of Olivia's hair behind her ear.

"Well, everyone has a weak spot. And I guess I already know fully well what yours is, Mr Barba."

Rafael felt a lump forming in his throat, and he tried to keep his poker face up, but obviously it wasn't working, as Astokhonovich looked triumphant, nodding at whoever was standing behind Rafael. A moment later, two tall men came into his field of vision, and he shivered slightly as they approached Olivia, cutting her free from the tape.

Her trembling suddenly stopped, and she froze just like that, her brown eyes wide and glassy as the men pulled her onto her feet like a doll. It looked like she wasn't in the room with them anymore, she seemed so far away suddenly, and the thought of what had caused this reaction frightened Rafael just as much as the current situation.

"Now, Mr Barba, I would like you to tell me how much the CIA knows about my operations," Astokhonovich said casually, walking back to the armchair he'd previously occupied, taking his scotch again. "I'm sure my men would be delighted to help you remember if you should have any trouble with your memory."

For a moment, Rafael thought about asking him to take him instead of Olivia, but he couldn't find the courage to say the words, knowing somewhere deep inside of him that it would only make it worse for both of them. Even though every single bit of him screamed, he kept his poker face up, slowly turning his head to look Astokhonovich into the eyes, saying: "You know that the CIA doesn't work like that. We were only told what we needed to know about you and your... business."

"That was the wrong answer."

Rafael couldn't shut his eyes fast enough as the words left the man's mouth; he still saw how one of the men punched Olivia into the face while the other held her. She didn't scream; not a single sound left her lips in that moment, even though it must have hurt when the fist had hit her jaw, causing her head to fly to the side.

Astokhonovich smirked as he saw Rafael opening his eyes again, and shivers of terror ran down his spine as another blow hit Olivia seconds later. A little bit of blood trickled down Olivia's chin, coming from her split lip, but at least her eyes weren't glassy anymore. Her brown eyes were staring at Rafael, and their gazes locked moments later. It was as if she could sense that he was on the brink to yelling 'Stop' at Astokhonovich, as she shook her head lightly, only him really seeing her doing it. And even though he didn't think he could watch this any longer, he obeyed. In the end, they weren't important, they were just two wheels in the machinery, replaceable.

He couldn't keep himself from wincing as the next strike knocked her to the ground and he stared at her with wide eyes as she didn't move, her face turned away from him. Astokhonovich gestured at the two men and they stepped away from Olivia, one of them handing their boss a gun. Nearly casually, as if he was pouring himself some coffee, he loaded the weapon, the familiar clicks making Rafael tremble. As the man aimed at Olivia, standing over her, Rafael felt like his heart stopped beating for a brief second.

"So, how about now, Mr Barba? Are you going to be able to let her die?"

Rafael felt sick in the stomach, and for a moment, the room seemed to be spinning. His mouth was suddenly as dry as a desert, and panic was spreading inside of him. There was no way he would let this happen, he couldn't let this happen... even if that meant that he had to betray all the things he'd been taught. In the past, he'd surely played some games, as he'd liked the challenge, the thrill of winning... But unlike Astokhonovich, he never had and would never gamble with human lives, let alone the of Ol... a partner.

"If you want to kill someone, then shoot me," he said, his voice a lot calmer than he'd thought, and he forced a mask onto his face in an attempt to conceal how much this situation was scaring him.

"How chivalrous," Astokhonovich replied, smirking before directing the end of the gun away from Olivia's head, taking a step towards Rafael. "Isn't it funny how easily one can be swayed when feelings are involved? You know exactly that it won't change anything, that admitting that there's something between you will only endanger her more, but still you can't keep yourself from offering to sacrifice yourself for her."

A horrible grin contorted the man's face, and he leaned forwards, so his face was on one level with Rafael's.

"She must mean a lot to you that you ignore what you've been taught to do in such a situation..."

The next seconds happened in a blur; suddenly, Olivia was whipping around on the floor, her legs slamming into Astokhonovich's ankles, throwing him off balance, the gun sliding from his fingers. Within the blink of an eye, she was on her feet, her elbow flying and slamming into the stomach of one of the men that had beaten her previously. Her knee hit the other one right between the legs only moments later, and she kicked Astokhonovich in the face as he tried to get up and reach for his gun. A sickening crunch echoed through the room as the impact of her foot broke his nose, and he howled in pain while Olivia dove for the gun.

One of the men grabbed her by the ankle, bringing her down, and her face was contorted in pain, but she still got hold of the gun and rolled onto her back, aiming and immediately, she pulled the trigger. The shot rung in Rafael's ears as he saw the man sinking onto the ground with empty eyes, and his companion stumbled onto his feet, his face as white as a sheet of paper as he fled from the room.

Olivia aimed at Astokhonovich, her hand steady at the gun, and she met Rafael's gaze for a short moment, a little gleam radiating off her brown eyes. The smallest of smiles played around the corners of her lips as she looked at him, her chest heaving from the harsh pants she released, and then she focussed on Astokhonovich again, her eyes narrowing.

"So, how about we ask the questions now? And if I'm not pleased with your answer, I'll shoot you into the knee. First the right one, then the left one... and if you're still not telling me what I want to know, I'll play the same game with your shoulders... then your hips... The human body has over two hundred bones, and I swear, I'm going to break every single one of yours just because I'm disgusted by you. What are you going to do?"

Her voice was low, threatening, and Rafael would have lied if he said that the way she suddenly spoke didn't intimidate him. In fact, it made him shiver, and it was a little bit creepy that she was able of changing from a sassy but still gentle person to one that threatened to use excessive force to get to her goal. At least it seemed to be working with Astokhonovich, as an obvious shiver ran through the man and his eyes widened impossibly as he stuttered: "What do you want?"

"Everything that would be incriminating, past and present. I want your disgusting ass to rott in jail," Olivia replied calmly, and Astokhonovich nodded hastily, pushing himself to his feet and leading her into his office. Rafael was left behind, feeling a little bit forgotten as he was still taped to the chair, with only the body of one of the henchmen for company.

His head was still spinning a little bit about what had just happened, and he felt a little bit as if he'd just woken up, not able to tell if muting the alarm had been a dream or not. But deep down, he felt relieved; she was okay, they hadn't harmed her as badly as he'd thought...

A shot ripped him from his thoughts, followed by a scream of agony; moments later, Olivia came from the office, carrying a suitcase in her left hand while her right was still clutching the gun; there were traces of blood on her clothes, and Rafael was glad that his voice wasn't shaking as he asked: "What did you do to him?"

"Only ensured he won't walk anywhere," she replied curtly, setting the suitcase down and running a hand through her hair.

"Could you get that tape off me now? I don't feel like spending the rest of my life with this chair."

A small smirk appeared on her face as she grabbed a little knife from the pocket of the dead man and carefully cut him free, saying: "And there I was hoping you liked to be bound to something."

"I don't feel particularly good when you're armed and I'm not able to move. Might I remind you of the last time I wasn't able to defend myself? You nearly broke my spine," Rafael answered, pulling the last bit of tape off his wrists, grimacing as it ripped out some hairs. "Also, you were being really scary just moments ago, I want to have the chance to flee!"

Olivia sighed deeply, shoving the suitcase into his arms; she looked a little bit annoyed with him, and she raised her voice to speak over the moans of agony from Astokhonovich that grew louder with every minute. "You do realise that I was acting, right?"

"I totally bought it, though," he admitted, deciding not to take a look into the office as they walked past the door.

"Maybe I've been an actress playing a badass character in another life? Who knows." Olivia shrugged, slipping the gun into her belt so she could easily pull off her blood-covered sweater. "Let's grab our stuff from the penthouse and get going. I don't feel like staying any longer."

"And there I'd been hoping for a candlelight dinner at the beach for us two," Rafael joked, checking his own clothes for blood as they walked up the path leading back to the main building of the resort in a quick pace. "You can say what you want, I'm a romantic husband."

"I can't wait to get a divorce," Olivia shot back with a smirk, her brown eyes sparkling at him, and it seemed like the moment in which she'd been frozen with fear was forgotten, just as the one in which she'd single-handedly disarmed three men that were all taller and stronger than her. Hadn't he seen it with his own eyes, he could have thought that she was just a woman with a sharp tongue and a charming smile.

The more he saw of her – the rough edges, the scars, the beautiful sides – the more he felt drawn towards her, and a part of him didn't seem to care that it was going against his professional credo. He'd once sworn to himself that he would never let his personal feelings get involved into his job and having them influence him... It seemed like more than one of his plans had failed tonight, but maybe they would end good anyway...


	5. After The Storm

So, here is the last chapter! I would like to thank all of you for reading and reviewing, your support motivated me a lot, and I can promise that this won't be the last AU or Barson fic in general ;)

(2400 Words)

* * *

 **Under The Surface**

Part 5

After The Storm

The bow of the white yacht gently cut through the turquoise waves and a breeze played with Olivia's brown curls. She pushed her sunglasses up her nose and held her face into the warm, bright sun, taking deep breaths of the salty air, and she enjoyed the sough of the wind in her ears and the splashing of the water as it hit the yacht. Above her head, the white sails were moving with the wind, and a small smile played around her lips as she spotted two dolphins accompanying them, jumping out of the water at their port side.

Her fingers were curled around the thin railing and she let her bare feet dangle off the boat, feeling sprays of water hit her skin. The peace that she felt inside of her in this moment was nearly surreal – not long ago they'd been in the middle of a scene full of violence, and now it felt like they were on a real vacation. Even though the bruises on her face clouded that thought a tiny bit.

After their departure from the resort they'd immediately made their way to the safe house of the CIA on Cuba, from where they'd organised everything from Dragan Astokhonovich's arrest to the delivery of the documents to Langley.

Their contact had informed them that the Cuban authorities were searching for them because of what had happened in the bungalow, and so the decision had been made that they wouldn't return to the United States via plane. To ensure that they wouldn't be held back while leaving Cuba, their superiors had decided that they should sail back, and Olivia felt like there were worse ways to travel.

She couldn't recall having ever felt so relieved about the end of a mission, despite it having brought some very unpleasant memories back to the surface. It had been a horrible feeling to freeze and to be pulled back into a situation that had been years ago, and it had felt too real for her as all the feelings had come crashing down at her again. Vulnerability was a feeling she hated, just as being helpless, and so maybe she'd been close to losing control over herself when she'd finally held the gun in her hands. She'd shown weakness, and that could have been her end – the thought sent a cold shiver down her spine.

Olivia could feel Rafael's gaze on her; she knew he'd looked at her since they'd left Cuba, and somehow it didn't make her uncomfortable. It was as if he was watching over her, even though she didn't need anyone to do so... but still she liked the thought of someone having her back, being in her corner, just in case.

She didn't know for how long they'd sailed until they anchored in a small bay for the night; she was deep in thought, and only surfaced as Rafael sat down next to her, staring at the magnificent sunset in silence. They'd barely spoken since they'd left Cuba, both of them feeling the need to think about what had happened. There were feelings inside of her, ones she'd never thought could spark so fast...

He was able to get under her skin with only a few well-placed words or a simple action, his arrogance was annoying... yet still she felt a connection to him, one that she'd never had to someone before. It scared her a little bit, if she was honest, because she believed that relationships needed time to develop – she had trouble trusting people, and he obviously had, too. Still, they'd fallen into some kind of behaviour where one trusted the other to do the right thing. He'd let her handle Astokhonovich – after having his butt kicked by her – and she'd trusted him to keep Astokhonovich talking while they'd been his hostages, even though he didn't know what her plan was.

They'd clicked while still colliding occasionally, and this mixture was oddly exciting.

She didn't know how long they sat there, watching how the sun turned into a glowing red and orange ball and slowly sank into the ocean, dipping everything into a warm light – but she felt like she could have stayed like this forever. The last rays of light were vanishing as Rafael cleared his throat tentatively and asked softly: "Do you want to eat something for dinner?"

Shivering slightly as the warmth of the day faded away, she shook her head, leaning her cheek against the railing, lightly turning her head. Their gazes met, and she could see her exhaustion and meditativeness mirrored in his green eyes.

"Can I ask you something?" Rafael questioned after some minutes of silence in which Olivia's head had been wonderfully empty.

"Sure," she mumbled, noticing how he hesitated for a moment, as if he was afraid of saying out loud what was going on in his mind.

"When they hit you... you froze. You looked like you were having a deja vu," he said slowly, and though she turned her head to stare out at the ocean, she could feel his gaze on her face. "What happened?"

A lump was forming in her throat and she had to gulp hard to get rid of it; her gaze fixed on the gentle waves, she needed a long moment to keep the pictures from floating back into her mind. Her voice was shaky as she finally found the courage to answer, but she didn't feel particularly insecure about sharing one of the darkest moments of her life with him – she trusted him.

"Two fellow agents and I were held hostage in Afghanistan and they tried to get information out of us. And they weren't as gentle as Astokhonovich's men. First, they shot one of the agents right in front of us, laughing when he begged for his life."

Another shiver ran down her spine, and she took a few deep breaths before continuing. "Then they tried to break one of us by torturing the other. I don't remember anything after that. Woke up in a military hospital in Germany a week later."

She closed her eyes and listened to the waves for some time, as they calmed her down again, and then she turned her head to look at him. Rafael's face showed the shock and concern she'd seen so many times before, and she was grateful that he didn't seem to pity her. It was the last thing she needed, and it was as if he knew that.

"The situation, it just brought some memories back. The fear for my life," she whispered, and he held her gaze. It felt good, nearly even safe, and she felt like fate was a funny thing. Without the incident, she probably would have stayed in Afghanistan longer, and would never have met him.

Rafael seemed to be at a loss for words, and it suddenly caused her to chuckle lightly – she hadn't seen him like that yet, and she somehow doubted that he ever had moments in which he didn't have anything to say. Her smile broke the tension that had hung in the air between them, and it was a good feeling to leave this heavy and sad topic behind.

"You know, I'm surprised how much I regret that our mission is already over," she confessed after another few minutes of sitting there and watching how the last bit of light disappeared from the sky. "And if someone had told me a few days ago that I would tell you that, I would have laughed."

"So you're going to miss me?" Rafael asked, grinning smugly at her, his green eyes twinkling, and she bumped her shoulder against his, shaking her head while grinning back.

"Maybe, when I have a weak moment. But only a little bit. It'll be hard to find someone to squabble with."

Rafael looked at her, the corners of his eyes crinkling in amusement, and she liked how genuine this soft expression was, considering that they'd spent most of their time fighting. "Well, Langley's a small place – maybe I'll come by to stand in your blindspot from time to time, or to drink your coffee. Wouldn't that be nice?"

"Doesn't sound too bad," she replied with a light chuckle in her voice before they both fell silent again. The moon was starting to rise already, pale against the darkening sky, and when the first bit of silvery light started to fall onto the surface of the ocean, Rafael started to speak again.

"To be honest, when Dodds assigned you to me as my partner I seriously thought that you were supposed to dig for bodies in my backyard following my suspension. It would have fit. They didn't find anything to kick me out with during the first investigation, so they try again. I'm sorry I thought about you like that."

Olivia stared at him in irritation and shock, and she couldn't deny the wave of hurt that suddenly ran through her. She felted tempted to pinch herself to make sure that she'd understood him correctly – she had been sure he didn't have the best opinion of her at the start, but she'd never suspected something like this.

"Sorry? That's it?" she spat out, fighting hard to keep her anger and hurt at bay – she herself hadn't thought she would feel so offended by hearing this, and his rapid, confused blinking showed her that she'd taken him by surprise, too.

"E-excuse me?"

"You're a paranoid idiot, Barba!" Olivia exclaimed, pulling herself to her feet suddenly as she felt the need to bring some distance between them. She didn't know why it made her feel like that, it just did.

"All I have is sarcasm and my weapon!" he replied weakly, standing up as well so they were face to face again. "I guess I've been working and living on my own for too long to not think that... Look, I truly am sorry for thinking about you in that way."

Olivia had crossed her arms in front of her chest while he spoke, truly wanting to be not so swayed easily by him, knowing that he hadn't trusted her, but somehow, her expression softened without her being able to prevent it. "You're still an idiot."

"I guess I'll have to live with that."

They stood there for a moment, looking at each other with smiles on their faces, then she suddenly saw a little bit of nervosity cross his face. Moments later, he tentatively asked: "Hey, uh… if I'm not too much of an idiot, would you like to meet up outside work?"

She gave him a questioning glance and he added: "Just to squabble, of course."

"Rafael Barba, are you trying to ask me out on a date?" Olivia smirked as she saw a light blush on his face, but somehow her heart skipping a beat convinced her that she shouldn't tease him about it.

And so she answered with all the honesty she could muster, a smile on her face. "I would like to."

OoO

"Agent Benson," Rafael greeted politely as Olivia walked past his secretary and into his office, like she always did. She threw a file onto his desk and then put her hands on her hips, looking at him with a dark expression.

"Seriously? You're not approving this mission even though it would obviously bring a lot of information?"

"Did I miss the memo about 'Hello, how are you, do you have a moment to talk about this issue?' being out now?" Rafael said with a smirk and gestured at his secretary, who closed the door of his office. Olivia wasn't impressed at all by his behaviour and continued to stare, causing him to drop his pen and stand up.

"Listen, just because you have a feeling..."

She rolled her eyes, turning around on her heel and running a hand through her hair before she faced him again. Sometimes, she really hated that Dodds had decided to put them in charge of their own department – they were equals, both having the same authority within the department, but their opinions caused them to clash very often. Still, they made a good team, maybe because they had arguments all the time.

"Oh come on, Barba, you know that I'm not always solely relying on my instincts!" Olivia protested while Rafael walked around his desk to sit on the edge of it. He was returning her gaze calmly, the smallest of smirks playing around his lips.

"I love how you don't seem to get tired of having this discussion literally every day, and we've been working here together for over half a year now," he said, grinning now, and Olivia frowned before moving over so the tips of their shoes nearly touched.

"You find this funny, don't you?"

"Yeah... kind of."

He winked at her, and she rolled her eyes again, trying to glare at him when he added something. "It's cute how you use it as an excuse to come into my office every day just because you miss me."

"Yeah, sure, I miss you, because being in the office next to yours is too much of a distance. And having coffee three times a day plus lunch and then going home with you just isn't enough time spent together," she replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm and Rafael reached out to sling his arms around her waist, pulling her towards him. A sloppy kiss landed on her lips, causing her to smile softly, and she put her arms around his neck. Her heart was jumping in joy as he reached up and gently pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear.

"You can't get enough of me, that's why you have to discuss everything with me."

"You're such a jerk," she hissed teasingly, but the smile never left her face as she grabbed his tie and pulled him towards her to kiss him quickly.

"Really? I guess you'll live with that, won't you? How about I make it up by inviting you to a nice holiday in Cuba?"


End file.
